Means for protecting car doors and sides



No. 62|,344. Patented Mar. 2|, I899. J. E. JONES.

MEANS FOR PROTECTING OAR DOORS AND SIDES.

(Application filed Dec. 12, 1898.)

2 Sheets- Sheet I.

(No Model.)

m: NORRIS PETERS c0, Pnorouma, WASHINGTON, n. c.

N0. 62|,344. Patented Mar. 2|, l899.

.J. E. JONES.

MEANS FOR PROTECTING CAR DOORS AND SIDES. A ucaci n filed me. 12, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

THE Npnms vzrzns ca. Pnu'ro-umo" WASHINGTON o. c.

STATES FFICE.

ATENT JOB EPHRAIM JONES, OF FORBUSH, IOWVA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters IPatent No. 621,344, dated March 21, 1899.

Application filed December 12, 1898. Serial No. 699,028. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OB EPHRAIM JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Forbush, in the county of Appanoose and State of' for protecting the sides and doors of freightcars, more especially those shown and described in Patent No. 610,990, granted to me and W. G. Hodge September20, 1898, and to enable the buffer member or abutment to be introduced into and removed from a freightcar with greater facility than heretofore.

Another object of the invention is to enable the buffer member or abutment to be adj usted vertically, laterally, and horizontally to position it properly with relation to the car and to facilitate loading the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient means for swinging the buffer member or abutment inward and outward and for locking it in its folded position to prevent it from being accidentally struck by a car.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the. claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a car-protecting apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a car, the buffer member, or abutment being shown in operative position in full lines and raised in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation. vertical sectional view.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

1 designates a supporting-frame composed of parallel uprights 2 and top and bottom bars 3 and i, connecting the ends of the up- Fig. lis a port 5 and provided at their inner and outer ends with threaded perforations in which are arranged adjusting-screws 8 and 9, adapted to secure the top of the main frame the desired distance from a car 10. The bottom of the main frame is connected with the sill 6 by a horizontal rod 11, terminating short of the rails 12 and having a threaded portion receiving a nut 13, which engages the frame 1.

The framework or support 5 consists of a pair of horizontal beams extending over the top of the supporting-frame 1 and arranged near the upper terminal of the uprights 2, and these bars or beams of the framework 5 may be mounted in any suitable manner.

-The sides or uprights 2 of the supportingframe form guides for a vertically-adjustable frame 14, which carries the apparatus for protecting the sides and doors of freight-cars and which is composed of upper and lower horizontal bars and suitable connecting-bars.

The vertically-adjustable frame 14 is pro-' vided at opposite sides with bearings, in which are journaled crank-shafts 15 and 16, provided between the uprights with crankbends and connected with a buffer member or abutment by links 17 and 18, whereby when the crank-shafts are rotated the buffer member will be drawn inward or forced outward, thereby greatly facilitating the positioning of the buffer member within the car and its removal therefrom.

The links 17 and 18, which are arranged in pairs, as shown, are connected with the buffer member pivotally and with the crank-shafts adjustably by means hereinafter described and are adapted to swing upward and downward when the crank-shafts are rotated. The

crank-shafts are provided at one side of the 5 lower end by the lower cross-bars 32.

be simultaneously rotated in the same direction to produce a corresponding operation of the links 17 and 18. The connecting-bar 21 is pivoted at a point near the outer ends of the levers 19 and 20, and the extended portions thereof constitute handles for operating the crank-shafts,which are secured at any desired adjustment by a curved ratchet 22, mounted on the vertically-adjustable frame and provided with perforations adapted to be engaged by apin 23. The pin 23,which passes through a perforation of the lower lever, is adapted to engage any one of the perforations of the curved ratchet; but instead of employing the form of ratchet illustrated in the accompanying drawings, any other suitable ratchet mechanism may be provided.

The buffer member or abutment 25 is raised and lowered by means of a rope or cable 26, having one end attached to a cross-bar 27 of the supporting-frame and passingaround pulleys 2S and 29, located, respectively, at the back of the buffer member or abutment 25 and at the center of the cross-bar 27. The rope or cable extends downward from the cross-bar 27 to the pulley 28 and then upward to the pulley 29,and its other end is connected with a windlass 30, mounted on the cross-bars 32, in suitable bearings near the bottom of the vertically-movable frame. The cross-bar 27 supports the uprights near the center of the frame, and the latter is supported near its The arrangement of the rope or cable on the pulleys 2S and 29 enables the buffer member or abutment to be readily swung upward and downward, and the Windlass is adapted to be operated without necessitating the operator leaving the apparatus. The pulley 28 is mounted in a suitable bracket or support,and the pulley 29, which is located at the center of the cross-bar 27, is journaled in a suitable hanger composed of sides or plates depending from the cross-bar 27 and provided at their lower ends with bearings for the reception of the shaft or spindle upon which the pulley is mounted. lVhen it is desired to introduce the buffer member or abutment into a car, it is lowered and swung outward by means of the rope or cable, and it is projected through the door-opening by means of the crankshafts, and in removing the buffer member or abutment the operation is reversed, it being withdrawn from the car by the crankshafts before it is swung upward by the Windlass.

The buffer member or abutment is capable of lateral adjustment, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, in order to position it properly with relation to a car, and this adjustment is effected by means of the links, which are secured to the crank-shafts by means of collars 33 and setscrews 34, which engage the shaft, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

The vertical adjustment of the frame 14 is obtained by means of a cable or rope 35, passing over pulleys 36 and 37 of the top of the frame 1 and having its inner run connected with the top of the frame 14 by divergent branches 38, and its outer run is connected with a windlass 39, mounted on a bracket 40, projecting from one side of the supportingframe. The pulleys 36 and 37 are arranged at the top of the supporting-frame, and the inner run of the cable 35 is preferably provided with a ring 41 and is connected by a chain 42 or other suitable connection with the buffer member or abutment 25 to form a stop to limit the downward swing of the same. \Vhen the Windlass 39 is rotated, the frame 14 is raised or lowered, according to the direction of the rotation of said Windlass. The Windlass 39, which may be of any desired construction, is arranged parallel with the crankshafts, and the Windlass 30, to which the rope or cable 26 is connected, is arranged at right angles to the crank-shafts and is located beneath the same, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings. When the buffer member or button is swung upward and inward, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, it is engaged by an automatic catch 43, mounted on the supporting-frame and arranged to engage the upper edge of the abutment or buffor member.

The buifer or abutment member is adapted to be arranged to support a grain-door, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, and the Vertical adjustment of the parts permits the apparatus to be raised bodily, so that a chute or conveyer may be introduced beneath it when desired.

The invention has the following advantages: The apparatus, which is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, is capable of protecting the sides and doors of freight-cars, similar to the apparatus described in the patent before referred to, and it has its buffer member connected with loops and bends of the crank-shafts, which are adapted to be rotated to project the buffer member or abutment through a door opening into a car and to withdraw it therefrom. The Windlass for raising and lowering the frame 14 is adapted to elevate the apparatus and enable a chute or conveyer to be introduced under the buffer member or abutment, and the device is under complete control of the operator, who does not have to leave it to operate any of the parts. The downward movement of the buffer member or abutment is limited by its connection with the rope or cable 35, and it is supported in a vertical position in proper relation to the vertically-movable frame at all times when it is in operative position, and it is automatically locked in its folded position when swung upward.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is 1. A device of the class described comprising a frame, crank-shafts, a buffer member or abutment connected with the crankshafts and adapted to be moved inward and outward by the same, levers connected with the crankshafts, a rod connecting the levers, and a ratchet device arranged to be engaged by one of the levers, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a support, a buffer member or abutment, connections between the buffer member or abutment and the support for swinging the former inward and outward, and a locking device mounted on the support and arranged to engage the buffer member or abutment to hold the same in its folded position, substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprising a supporting-frame capable of horizontal adjustment to move it to and from a car, a vertically-m ovable frame mounted on the supporting-frame, a buffer member, links connecting the buffer'member with the verticallymovable frame and capable of lateral ad justment, and means for swinging the buffer member inward and outward, substantially as described.

4. A device of the class described comprising a supporting-frame capable of horizontal adjustment, means for securing the lower end of the frame in its adjustment, horizontal guides'or keepers receiving the upper end of the frame, adjusting-screws mounted on the keepers at the ends thereof and engaging the supporting-frame, and a buffer member or abutment mounted on the supporting-frame, substantially as described.

5. A device of the class described comprising a supporting-frame, a vertically-adjustable frame mounted on the supporting-frame, a buffer member connected with the vertically-adjustable frame and adapted to swing inward and outward, a rope or cable connected with and adapted to elevate the vertically-adjustable frame, and means for connecting the buffer with the rope or cable, whereby its downward and outward movement is limited, substantially as described.

6. A device of the class described comprising a supporting-frame, a vertically-adjustable frame, a buffer member, links connecting the bufier member with the vertically-adjustable frame, pulleys located at different elevations and mounted respectively on the buffer member and on the supporting-frame,

and a rope or cable secured at one end to the ward over the other pulley and adapted to' swing the buffer member upward and inward, substantially as described.

ing a support, a buffer member, links con-- necting the buffer member with the support, pulleys mounted on the bufier member and the support, and a rope or cable secured to the support, extending downward to the pulley of the buffer member and upward over the said pulley, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. A device of the. class described comprising a supporting-frame,a vertically-adjustable frame, a buffer member provided with links and connected with the vertically-adj ustable frame, pulleys 28 and 29 mounted on the supporting-frame and on the buffer member, a rope or cable passing over the said pulley and adapted to raise and lower the buffer member, a hoisting rope or cable connected with the verticallyadjustable frame, and windlasses mounted on said supporting-frame and connected with the ropes or cables, substantially as described.

9. A device of the class described comprising a buffer member or abutment, crankshafts, links connecting the buffer member or abutment with the crank-shafts to permit the former to swing upward and downward, and means for operating the crank-shafts, whereby the bufi'er member or abutment is drawn inward and outward, substantially as described.

10. A device of the class described, comprising a buffer member or abutment, and crankshafts connected with the buifer member or abutment and adapted to draw the same inward and outward.

11. A'device of the class described, comprising a buffer member or abutment, a supporting-frame, crank-shafts connected with the buffer or abutment and adapted to draw the same inward and outward, an operating-lever connected with the crank shafts and adapted to rotate the same simultaneously, and a curved ratchet device arranged to secure the lever at the desired adjustment, sub- V stantially as described.

12. A device of the class described, comprising a buffer member or abutment means for swinging the same upward and downward, a crank-shaft having a bend or loop connected with the said means andadapted to move the buffer member or abutment outward and inward, substantially as described.

13. A device of the class described, comprising a supporting-frame, a-buffer member or abutment, crank-shafts mounted on the supporting-frame and provided with crank loops or bends, links connected with the crank loops or bends and with the buffer member or abutment, operating mechanism for rotating the crank-shafts, and a Windlass having a rope or cable connected with the buffer member or abutment and adapted to swing the same upward and downward, substantially as de scribed. v

14. A device of the class described, compris IIS ing a supporting-frame, a buffer member or abutment, operating mechanism mounted on theIsupporting-frame and connecting the buffer member or abutment with the same, and

5 means for adj usting the frame with relation to a car, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto ailixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

J OB EPHRAIM JONES.

Witnesses:

J. E. JoNEs, Jr., W. E. LAW. 

